Eric Limer

Sure, your phone can take a decent picture, but it's not even in the same universe as the best camera the government's got. At 1.8 gigapixels, the DARPA-developed ARGUS-IS the highest resolution surveillance platform in the world, and, when mounted to a drone, can single-handedly do the work of an army of 100 predator drones watching the area of one medium-sized city.

ARGUS's view is both wide and precise. It can cover areas of up to 15 square miles at a glance while still spotting objects as small as six inches around from heights of 17,500 feet. ARGUS not only streams the footage to the ground live, but keeps a stash of video on board as well, a staggeringly massive stash of up to 1 million terabytes (one exabyte) per day.

Whether the ARGUS-IS is currently deployed right now is classified information, and likewise, we aren't allowed to see exactly what it looks like either. But one thing is for sure: all-seeing eyes in the sky that never forget aren't science fiction. They're reality. And for all you know, they could be watching you.

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You can find out more about the ARGUS-IS and other drones in PBS's Nova special "Rise of the Drones," which this clip is taken from. [PBS via Reddit]